SBE member Jared Taylor was the only vote opposing the adoption of these standards and he stated, “The bottom line is that I am very disappointed that we kicked the parents to the curb and ignored the will of the voters when they elected Diane Douglas. Yet she led the way today; we just renewed Common Core.”

Several parents were shocked to read your comments in the 1-18-18 briefs. It’s obvious that you don’t understand what is really going on in Arizona’s classrooms —which is very disappointing, since you are a candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction.

You have a massive misunderstanding on the recess issue. The traditional three 15-minute recess has been eliminated in most schools across the state. Many schools are down to one 10-minute recess per day, and some have no recess at all! These are not college students. They’re young children! They need to move! Studies have shown that physical activity improves academic performance. Americans are well known for their creativity and ingenuity —unlike China where academics are all that matter. We foster entrepreneurs and inventors in the USA. Recess promotes these desirable American characteristics. Recess is correlated with improved student behavior in the classroom. Recess also promotes social skills and helps kids learn how to deal with bullying —which is the opposite of giving them “comfort lamas and safe places,” as you stated.

An opponent of Frank Riggs, who is running for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, is promising to "get the federal government out of state education." That rhetoric sure sounds good. However, it's doubtful that Frank’s opponent knows much about the federal government's role in Arizona, or how to get it out of the state without jeopardizing our rural communities and our most vulnerable student populations.

Frank Riggs knows that K-12 education is primarily a responsibility of state and local government. In fact, former Congressman Riggs is the only candidate with an actual record and legislative history of fighting to restore state and local control in K-12 education. But he also understands the truth about the federal government's involvement in K-12 education, and where the money is, how it's spent, and what it will take to replace those federal dollars.

When does “repeal and replace” not mean “repeal and replace”? When Supt. Of Public Instruction Diane Douglas says it.

Incumbent Douglas has been cranking out media releases, including taking a recent victory lap on the anniversary of the State Board of Education’s adoption of “Common Core Rebrand #2.” Her false “Common Core has been repealed and replaced” narrative has recently appeared in Frosty Taylor’s 12/20/2017 Briefs. It also appeared in the 12/19/2017 issue of the Yellow Sheet.

For the record, the Common Core Standards haven’t been repealed or replaced. At most, they’ve been “tweaked.”

If you have any doubts about the negative effects of High Stakes Testing, there are many others who agree with Barry Jackson. They also say it is counter-productive, expensive, wasteful, and it is also child abuse.

At a recent Legislative District meeting, an opponent of Frank Riggs, who is also running for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, asserted that two bills co-sponsored by former Congressman Riggs "...crippled the logging industry" and "crippled the fishing industry." The fact is that Congressman Riggs did exactly the opposite! His bills helped those industries! He was one of the strongest supporters in Congress of the resource-based industries and private property rights. Because of his opposition to the extreme environmental movement, eco-terrorists targeted Riggs and even rampaged through his office vandalizing it and dragging in a tree stump and chaining themselves to it.

Frank Riggs has served country and community as an Army veteran and former police officer. An education leader who gets results, he's been called “the most qualified candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction in Arizona History.”

Did you happen to see this article by Steven Singer? More importantly, did PARENTS see it? Sure, school is hard. Kids complain. If they really, really complain, parents go to the teachers. Teachers reassure them. Principals and Superintendents reassure them. After all, they're the "experts," not parents. Kids are just "softer" than when we went to school. Right?

Wrong. Something is very, very wrong.

"Here’s a high stakes testing statistic you won’t hear bandied about on the news. The suicide rate among 10- to 14-year-olds doubled between 2007 and 2014 – the same period in which states have increasingly adopted Common Core standards and new, more rigorous high stakes tests. For the first time, suicide surpassed car crashes as a leading cause of death for middle school children. In 2014, the last year for which data was available, 425 middle schoolers nationwide took their own lives."